Mrs. Robins' Blog

Here is a copy of the letter that was in your childś green folder at Materials Pick Up this week.

November 5, 2020

 READING LOGS 

Today you will find copies of your child’s Weekly Reading Logs (in your child’s green folder they were given at Material Pick- Up).   These reading logs will count as a part of your child’s homework grade.   Recording reading for Weekly Reading Logs will begin next week on Monday, November 9th.  They will need to be turned in no later than the following Monday (For example, Monday November 16th).

Second graders should be reading at least 20 minutes every night.  Please help your child to keep up with reading at least 4 to 5 days a week.  On the “Reading Log,” please record the date, the book title(s) and/or chapter read if your child is in a chapter book, and parent signature.  You may be writing down more than one book a night.  Please use one space per book or per chapter if your child is reading a chapter book.   PLEASE ONLY RECORD BOOKS YOUR CHILD HAS READ INDEPENDENTLY. This log is to show what they are working on independently.  We still encourage your child being read to, but for the Reading Log we are asking you to ONLY RECORD BOOKS THAT HE OR SHE HAS READ.  Some nights you might not fill out the Monthly Reading Log because that is a night you may have read to your child.   

Leveled books will be provided in Benchmarks for your child.  During Learning Labs we have been exploring these books and we will eventually have each child begin his or her own library in Benchmarks.  Don’t forget… our school library will also have book checkout too!   

Together in class, we have been working on the skill of picking “good fit” books.  To help your child pick “good fit” books at home please refer to the I-PICK chart/bookmark attached to this note, and keep it for future reference. 

Please keep in mind that reading is a strategic process.  Predicting, making mistakes, self-correcting, and confirming are part of the process.

Here are a few ideas to use when supporting your child’s reading.

1.  When your child comes to a word he or she doesn’t know, suggest rereading the first part of the sentence, using the beginning and ending sounds, and/or looking for chunks you know.  

2.  Ask questions: “Does it make sense?”  “Does that sound right?”  “Does the beginning sound of the word match the word you think it is?”

3.  It is alright to tell your child a word after he or she has tried various strategies.  

4.  Continue to encourage your child to retell the stories they have read.  They can do the retelling at the end of reading a paragraph, a chapter, or even when they have completed a book.  If you would like to challenge your child even more have them retell the story in writing.  When retelling the story please encourage your child to use character names, tell what happened, and use guiding words such as “in the beginning, then, next, after, in the end.”

5.  ALWAYS KEEP THIS SPECIAL READING TIME POSITIVE!